Morning Coffee: March 6th Edition

Perhaps it was because it came in a loss and Johnson, like many of the true professionals in the game, rarely get excited about anything that doesn’t have a W attached to it. But more likely it’s because Johnson doesn’t look at the game of basketball as a means to anything but winning for his teammates.

Instead of namedropping or flexing on social media outlets about his lifestyle, he’s more likely to discuss how he’s given up soda this season or mention how many evenings he’s spent staying in — including New Year’s Eve — studying up on his opponents on Synergy. While he isn’t one to talk about himself, he’s got someone else willing to do it for him. Gary Payton wants you to know how much DeRozan cares about the game and how hard he works to respect it. “That’s my man,” DeRozan said, when asked about Payton. “I love that dude, man.”

The worst part of Fields’ deal with the Raptors is that it’s fully guaranteed with no team option, so the Raptors are stuck paying him for the next two seasons after this one, and with $12 million left in those two years dealing Fields before the 2014-2015 season is near impossible. Landry Fields lucked up with the contract, but unfortunately for the Raptors they overpaid for a marginal NBA rotation player.